You’ve heard the saying – ‘Build it and they will come’ but we all know that’s rarely the case. However if you build it and market it then they are much more likely to come. This week we have Marcus Nicholls from Akuna Pet Resorts who is not scared of taking big risks; and he’s able to because he now understands the power of marketing and of being crystal clear on his perfect client. But that wasn’t always the case.
Join me in this fireside chat as we uncover:
- Why he’s built a resort that most humans would love exclusively for pets
- Identifying a gap in the marketplace and filling that gap to the extreme
- Identifying your ideal customer profile and solving their problems
- Why understanding your ideal customer profile is fundamental to your overall marketing strategy
- All the 1%ers that make this unique experience attractive to their ideal client
- Creating systems in processes to ensure marketing gets done
- Akuna Pet Resort’s Instagram strategy
- Surveying your clients and then acting on the information gathered
Plus I had the pleasure of being interviewed on Dr Jesse Green’s podcast The Savvy Dentist Podcast this week, and I get great marketing question from a listener in Saskatoon, Canada.
All that and more in this week’s instalment of Australia’s best small business marketing podcast.
EPISODE TIMELINE
00:30 Welcome & overview
02:45 Time for a check-in on the week
04:57 Today’s guest introduction – Marcus Nicholls of Akuna Pet Resorts
06:14 Interview with Marcus Nicholls – Part 1
25:25 Insights in to Netregistry & Designcrowd.com
27:27 Interview with Marcus Nicholls – Part 2
49:05 My top 3 attention grabbers from my chat with Marcus Nicholls
51:41 Motivational marketing quote of the week
52:00 Listener question
58:35 Wrap-up and insights in to next week’s guests
EPISODE SPONSORS (PLEASE SUPPORT THEM)
Netregistry listener offer – Get your online marketing sorted. Websites from $79 / month.
Designcrowd.com – Save up to $100 on your first design.
The world’s #1 custom design marketplace – beautifully simple & cheap. We love cheap!
RESOURCES & LINKS MENTIONED
Akuna Pet Resort’s official website
Episode 262 with Rand Fishkin on SEO tips for small business
Why you should consider outsourcing to the Philippines
Listener Dennis’s business – Armadillo Sidewalk Repairs
Episode 308 on how to free up cash and time by outsourcing to the Philippines
Buy Timbo’s new marketing book The Boomerang Effect
MY TOP 3 MARKETING ATTENTION GRABBERS FROM THIS EPISODE
- Ask what could be your over-the-top solution to a problem your prospects have that you can solve? Or, what would your product or service offering look like if money were no object?
- An Instagram video per day per guest! This is a marketing idea that looks difficult on the surface, but isn’t as hard as it seems. Instagram make uploading video dead easy. Often what we think is hard work, is amazingly simple once we’ve done it a couple of times. Try something new today.
- Stop underestimating the power of marketing! Marcus did when he built his water fun park and nearly went bust. The saying “Build it and they will come” should actually be “Build it, market it, and they will come!” If you’re lacking sales or enquiry, or even if you have plenty of clients but just not enough of the ones you really want to work with – then lean on the wonderful world of marketing to help you solve it. Don’t know where to start? Buy my book!
INSPIRATIONAL MARKETING QUOTE
Steve Martin once said …
“Be so good … that they simply can’t ignore you.”
OVER TO YOU …
What was your biggest marketing learning or ah-ha moment from this episode?
Leave your comment below.
My guest and I respond to each and every comment.
Grab My 10 Marketing
5 thoughts on “311 – Beef ice-cream, Mercedes chauffeured pick-up, a water fun park … All for your Dog. Woof woof!”
Loved the instagram video a day. I want to do this with my Music Students. Can we get a bit more detail on how to use a qr code with customers email address loaded into an email screen etc.. The instagram part is easy . Shot video, post and copy lik to share in email etc..
Great episode…
Thanks Danny …. I’ll follow Marcus up and see if he’ll share how he does this. Stay tooooned!
Thanks Tim happy to answer any questions.
Hi Danny
There is a number of free programs that allow you to create your own QR code just google QR
With these program you can create personalised messages & subject to each customer, so creating a QR for each customer. Press create then copy to a word doc or whatever other platform you wish store them.
With these programs you can create lots of different QR codes.
You only have to create it once.
With a QR reader app you just scan the QR code & it will automatically open email, with the message you created, paste the link & send.
Hope that helps let me know if you need anything else.
Timbo, just throwing some love your way for the gag about the lap pool not just being for lap dogs, I don’t think you are getting enough credit for it… I wonder if the poodle can also swim in…
Ah, finally someone picked that up.I thought that was one of my finest moments, Justin. Thanks for bringing it to the world’s attention ;0)